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William Scott Anderson
William Scott Anderson was a magician act from Season 5 of JayGT. He was eliminated in the Judge Cuts. Background William Scott Anderson was born and raised in the state of Oregon. He joined the Army right out of high school as a military policeman. His route into performing magic was a direct result of his military service. After a year in Korea, and a few years at Ft. Lewis, Washington, William was assigned duties as a D.A.R.E. officer on post. He would travel around the five elementary schools on the installation teaching classes on the dangers of drugs and gangs. He first started learning magic tricks as a classroom tool to keep the students’ attention. Eventually, he began to perform at birthday parties as a side job, which led to more jobs, such as working magic in restaurants. As luck would have it, while working slight of hand magic in a local restaurant, Scott was befriended by one of the best slight of hand artists in the country, Steve Dobson. Steve was eager to share his knowledge of the craft with his “prize” student, and it wasn’t much longer before Scott was purchasing his first illusions. The more he performed, the bigger his shows and his audiences became. Eventually, he started performing for large corporations and public events under the stage name “Scott Slights.” William was honorably discharged from the Army in July of 2001. He moved back home to Oregon, and joined the National Guard as a flight medic. That August, he received great reviews after performing at the Oregon State Fair. His world of magic seemed to be skyrocketing. Then came September 11, 2001. Within a month, Scott was back on active service. For 21 months Scott was activated, serving at Ft. Sam Houston in Texas, Fort Bragg in North Carolina, and with the 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan. During his spare time in Afghanistan, Scott performed numerous magic shows for his fellow soldiers as well as the many Afghan children that were being taken care of at the Army Hospital. He even got to meet and perform for Robin Williams when he came over to visit the troops. After he returned home in June of 2003, Scott continued to serve with the National Guard, and became a full time college student, all while continuing to perform his magic shows on the side. After a year and a half of school, the National Guard offered Scott a position as a Blackhawk Helicopter Pilot. He packed his bags and moved to Southern Alabama for the Army’s flight school. While in Alabama, Hurricane Katrina came in and destroyed much of the Gulf Coast. For reasons still unknown to him, Scott had brought his show down to Alabama with no intention of performing. After Katrina, and wanting to help out, William teamed up with a good friend, Mark Huber, who is a chef and owner the elaborate “Rawls Restaurant” in Enterprise, Alabama. The two of them put on a series of dinner theaters with the proceeds going to benefit hurricane relief charities. After graduating from flight school, Scott returned home to Oregon where he resumed college full time. Nowadays, Scott flies for the National Guard and volunteers as a firefighter/paramedic. He is also performing more than ever, booking everything from birthday parties, school assemblies, and large stage theaters. On his most recent deployment to Iraq Scott beat out 57 different acts to win the military’s version of America’s Got Talent with a comedy/magic act that he created to entertain the troops. He then returned home so he could compete in America's Got Talent. 1 Audition William Scott Anderson's audition in Episode 507 consisted of placing his assistant into a box, folding the box into an even smaller one, jabbing swords through the box, and then removing the blades and unfolding the box to reveal the assistant rising up from the box. Category:Acts Category:Season 5 Acts Category:Magicians Category:Season 5 Magicians Category:Accepted Acts Category:Season 5 Accepted Acts